


I hate you, but I love you just the same

by everymagicalprice



Category: Figure Skating RPF
Genre: 10 Things I Hate About You AU, Alternate Universe - High School, Angst, F/M, Fluff, Movie AU, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-25
Updated: 2018-11-27
Packaged: 2019-08-29 02:38:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,821
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16735491
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/everymagicalprice/pseuds/everymagicalprice
Summary: When Scott is really scraping for money, he receives an offer that could get him one step closer to his dream. There's only one problem: he needs to convince Tessa Virtue to go to senior prom with him, so that her sister could also attend the dance. What he didn't know was that this would be one hell of a ride that would turn his life upside down.OR the "10 things I hate about you" AU that nobody asked for.





	1. Now your mess is mine

**Author's Note:**

> Some things before we start:  
> 1\. There's been some amazing writers doing romcoms AUs in the last few months (and really, y'all are amazing, I have so much fun reading your stories), and this idea has been pestering my head for a few weeks now. 10 things I hate about you is one of my favorite movies, so the opportunity was too good to pass.  
> 2\. Although I love Kat and Patrick, I didn't want this fic to stray much away from Tessa and Scott's personality, so adaptations needed to be made in order for that to work. The idea of the movie is here, but I tried to stay close to who they are.  
> 3\. This also means some canon adaptations needed to be made, like Jordan being the younger sister here (I'm so sorry for that) and Scott and Tessa's age difference reducing to a few months.  
> 4\. I don't have real knowledge of hockey, or university leagues or just sports in general. I tried looking up some things, but don't be too keen on these details.  
> 5\. At last, english is not my mother language and this is my first fic, so I'm sorry for any mistakes. Also, it would be lovely to hear your thoughts and comments on this!
> 
> Chapter title is from Vance Joy's song "mess is mine".

Scott has never been one to give up easily on the things he wanted. But with each passing day, he was closer and closer to giving up on the thing he wanted the most. It was just a far away dream anyway, one of those things you know is far too outside of your league, but you want it anyway. And for him, that meant getting a scholarship to the University of Denver, Colorado. Specifically, a scholarship to play hockey in the University of Denver, Colorado.

His love for hockey had begun at a very early age. Being born into a family of skating rink owner’s (and really, just being born Canadian) meant skating was in his blood. His parents did it, his aunt did it, his brothers did it, and, as soon as he was able to wear a pair of blades on his feet, he did it too. But it wasn’t like it was a burden to him. 

On the contrary, everything about it was fascinating. The balance people have to glide through the ice on those absurdly thin edges. The noise of the blades cutting deep as you gain speed and momentum. The flow passing through your body when you are skating, as if you could just start flying at one point. He remembers being nothing but a toddler, sitting on the stands of his family skating rink and being completely enthralled just to watch people on the ice.

When he started learning how to skate, his mother tried to bring him into the figure skating side of things. His first ice dance coach was his own aunt, Carol Moir, and alongside his mother, they did tons of tryouts for a skating partner that would fit. But it never seemed to be just right. Even as a child, Scott was already a talented skater and it was hard to find someone that could keep up at such a young age. 

Eventually, the kids would give up skating or then move on to find another partner. Even when they could find a talented girl, it was as if something was still missing. As if that spark that needs to set between an ice dance team in order for it to work just wasn’t there. That meant he never settled with a partner. And Scott soon figured out that, although he really did love ice dancing, his heart truly belonged to hockey.

So at the tender age of 9 years old, his father enrolled him in London’s hockey school, a city neighbor to his very small but very proud community of Ilderton. From that moment on, he never stopped.

When high school was about to begin, he left his old school in Ilderton to study in London’s Collegiate Institute, mostly because they had the best hockey team in town, the Red Falcons. It didn’t take long for him to get picked for the team still as a freshman, and then to make captain right in the beginning of junior year.

He and his family knew that, with the start of senior year, he needed to begin tracing realistic and doable plans in order to get a hockey scholarship in one of Canada’s universities. Toronto, Queen’s, McGill or even British Columbia. 

It was not only the best way to find himself good education, since there’s no way his parents could afford those stellar tuitions without a scholarship, but it was also the path every pro followed to get to the big leagues. First, you have to start at the university’s sports leagues.

However, his heart had another plan to follow altogether. Ever since his first year on the team, every single one of his teammates would take about how the Denver Pioneers were the best university team in the entire United States. And as much as he loved Canada, he also knew no team here could compete with the Pioneers.

If he were to set his feet on the ground, Scott knew that his chances to get to that team were as high as his mom’s chances at winning a singing competition. But unfortunately, he was never one to stop his mind from the wandering thoughts and wishful dreams that could never be. Every time he searched about the university’s hockey leagues, he could see himself as a Pioneer.

The thing was, with the team’s tryouts coming quickly and his parents’ current financial situation, it was getting harder and harder to be able to afford a trip and extended stay in Colorado. The family rink was struggling to stand on its feet nowadays, with fewer and fewer enrollments each year, and they were already paying for him to go to tryouts in some of Canada’s Universities.

Asking them to pay for a trip to the States because of a wannabe dream felt too much like a straining sacrifice that he really didn’t want them to make.

Scott tried to save enough money by himself with the earnings from a part-time job as a waiter at Keith’s Café, a small coffee shop that served as one of the main gathering locations in an even smaller town.

The place was nothing compared to those fancy and upcoming cafés in Toronto, but it was cozy and Keith, the owner, was really keen to him and would let him do extra shifts once he heard what the money was for.

There were only so many shifts a high school student and captain of the hockey team had time to do tho. And for all of his attempts, Scott was nowhere close to being able to afford it all by himself. Yet, his stubborn mind still seemed to hope that he would somehow be able to make the trip. 

Perhaps that was his undoing.

''Come on, Scott, please, you know if there’s anyone who can do this, it’s you”. His teammate Paul also seems to have his mind set on an idea.

The guy had gone head over heels since the first time he met Jordan Virtue, a sophomore that started out on LCI’s cheerleader team earlier in april. They had been hanging out for a few months now, but her dad somehow found out about it and went full crazy mode on how Jordan could definitely not be dating yet. 

According to Paul, she was only “still his 15 years old child”. And if there was one thing they knew about Jim Virtue, was that the man was strict. Not like a “be back on a 10 P.M. curfew” kind of strict, but more like a “you can sit on the couch and hold hands while I’m gonna be right here reading my book” kind of strict.

Actually, having a strict dad was one thing the Virtue sisters were known for. The other was really how different yet how alike Jordan and Tessa could be. On the looks, Jordan seemed just like a two-year younger Tessa look-alike. But if you’re talking about personality, there was a huge pond separating them. 

While Jordan was this bubbly hyper-extrovert cheerleader that could dance around every single one of the school’s cliques, Tessa was much more closed off. As in, m-u-c-h more closed off. As in, she had her one close and loyal friend Kaitlyn Weaver and other than that it was even hard to talk to the girl in school, and she was in the same senior class he was. Tessa always seemed to be sitting in the back corner of the room or with her head stuck in a book. Every week a new one. Not that he was paying attention, by the way.

After Jim found out about Jordan and Paul, they were still able to sneak behind his back, but all it took was her asking to go to prom with him in a couple of months for hell to break lose once again.

Apparently, her dad’s new stance was that, yes, Jordan could attend prom, but only if Tessa went to prom. And Tessa Virtue was never a sight to be seen at any proms or school dances. And if Tessa wasn’t going to prom, then Jordan wasn’t going to prom. Touché, Mr. Virtue!

If only Paul could give up that easily. His mind is now set on the easiest way out of this crossroad: making Tessa Virtue decide to attend prom. And shocking, Scott was his chosen one for that mission. 

“Are you out of your mind? I told you, I’m not doing that!” He glares up at Paul, trying to put emphasis on his voice when he said it. 

“Why not? Tessa is one hot girl, it can’t be that bad”

“Don’t be stupid, Paul” He says, giving the guy a tap on the head. “I’m not going to trick someone into believing I like them, only to be a jerk about it afterwards. It’s not right.”

“You are such a girl, Scott. She doesn’t even need to know about it. You can just say you don’t feel like you two hit it off and let that be it. Come on, help me out here.” Now he was really getting pissed at Paul.

“Christ, did you never learn how to take no for an answer? I probably couldn’t even do it anyway, Tessa and I have barely exchanged 5 words in the whole of high school”.

“But you are a social butterfly, I know you could get anyone to be friends with you in just a couple of days” Paul said in a tone that was nearing a whining. It wasn’t exactly a lie, actually.

Scott has always been, indeed, the ultimate extrovert, over-the-top sociable guy. It just runned deep in his blood, this craving for human interaction and for some kind of connection.

“Paul, the answer is still no. And we’re over here” Scott finished gathering his things and got up to leave the locker room they were in after one of the trainings. 

“Fine, I’ll pay you then. You are trying to save up money to go to Denver, right? I’ll give you money if you convince Tessa to go to prom with you”.

His voice came as slap in his face. And as much as he hated it and wished he had just continued walking towards the locker room exit, that sentence made him stop dead on his feet and turn back to Paul, narrowing his eyes.

“That was a low blow, even for you” Why did he make friends with these jerks anyway? Spoiled idiots who thought their families money could buy everything.

“Eight hundred bucks, Scott! What do you think? That would really help your plans to make the trip, wouldn’t it?” Paul seemed to never waver, now sporting a grin and knowing he had probably hit a weak spot.

“Eight hundred bucks??? Have you lost your mind?” He nearly screamed out of shock at that.

“Oh, it’s nothing. Dad has been really generous on the allowances now we’re almost making it to the university.” Idiot.

He would scold himself so much for that, but Scott couldn’t deny that his mind was racing with the proposition. Alongside the money he had already earned with the extra shifts and the one he would still gain in the next few weeks, eight hundred bucks was nearly enough to put an end on his money issue and get him to Denver.

And if he could get there, if he could just try getting into the Pioneers, even if it was only to fail, he would feel much better about any university he ended up attending.

Scott would rather be the guy that tried to achieve his dream and failed because it was far too high to reach, then the guy who never even tried anything, who never gave himself a shot, and, for that, would forever live not knowing what could’ve been.

“Come on man, what do you say? Do we have a deal?” Paul insisted after Scott spent a full minute just staring into the now empty showers.

Fuck.

He was not a very religious person, but could already feel his name burning in the seven grounds of hell for even considering that. Why did that offer had to come exactly at this time, when he was really scraping for money?

Would he even be able to live with himself after that? Knowing that he would sell himself for money and act like a complete headass to someone he barely even knew? Probably not.

Still.

“Yes, we have a deal.” Scott said as he turned his back once again and, this time, marched out the locker rooms for good.

What was he getting himself into?


	2. This is why we can't have nice things

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tessa learns about the new rule based on her relationship status and has one weird encounter, to say the least.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First of all, I really appreciated your comments, especially because this fic is like a first child to me. So thank you so much!  
> Also, the next update will definitely not come out as fast as this one, since my exams are starting this week. I wanted to get this out before life got more hectic.
> 
> Hope you enjoy this!
> 
> Chapter title is from Taylor Swift's song with the same name.

Tessa is confused as she enters her house and hears a high pitched voice, as if someone is on the verge of crying. Jordan. Oh dear, what crisis has exploded now?

“Dad? Jordan? Is everything alright?” She approaches the living room slowly, after leaving her shoes in the hallway, as if a bomb is really about to be dropped at any minute.

“No, Tess, nothing is alright! Dad doesn’t want me go to prom with Paul.” Right. The Paul Miller issue once again. “He thinks I’m gonna rot alone inside this house until I’m 80 and my back pains can’t take me anywhere else” She protests while frowning her forehead. Jordan could be such a drama queen sometimes.

She really should’ve known this was about to blow up anytime soon. Ever since dad caught her texting Paul about a movies date on the weekend (mental note taken on how to never smile goofily at her phone screeen while around her father), he and Jordan had been sneaking around behind his back. At school, mostly, but sometimes also during the weekends, when she would come up with group studies or movie nights at her friends houses as an excuse. They were bounded to be discovered anytime soon.

The thing was, her dad really didn’t know when to stop being so uptight and controlling about these things.

Ever since her mother died when they were 5 and 7 years old, he had raised the two of them all by himself. That turned him more and more protective of his daughters as they grew up.

Even with Tessa, who would be turning 18 soon, it was as if sometimes he still saw her as his small vulnerable child that needed protection from this ugly world.

For her, his overprotectiveness hadn’t been this big of a problem, mostly because Tessa was pretty much a home animal. She couldn’t stand those high school parties everybody seemed to love so much, just because they could get wasted until sunrise and prove that they were oh so adults now.

She had been to one of those parties in the past and it was enough to realize that it wasn’t her place. As cliché as it sounds, Tessa would much rather stay at home reading a book or doing a TV show marathon or then getting loads of chocolate and junk food when she was out with Kaitlyn.

Now about his dating concerns… Well, let’s say there wasn’t much too worry about in that area either. She knew her reserved and introspective nature made it hard for people to even approach her. And it sure made it a hell of a lot worse for her to be able to open up to just anyone.

It wasn’t as if many people were trying, anyway.

So Jordan ended up being the one with the short end of the stick. She was the younger sister and the one out the two who would kill to go to every party high school could provide.  


Sometimes it surprised her, how different they were. She actually admired her sister’s ability to put herself out there and interact with as many people as she could. Jordan had such an open and overly social nature that it was easy for her to make friends and captivate people everywhere she went.

Something Tessa would never be able to relate to.

“Did you know about this? That she was sneaking behind my back?” Her father asks, diverting his exasperated look from her sister to fix it on her.

“I don’t wish to take part in high school drama today, so I’m just gonna sit around here and pretend you two are talking about the upcoming collector’s edition of ‘the bell jar’, okay?” She says, slumping on the couch and already grabbing a book that sitted on the coffee table.

Yep, she definitely did know. Nope, she was definitely not going to engage in that discussion.

“Tess, can you please talk to him? I just wanna go to a ball, it’s not like we’re having a big orgy party.” Her sister looks at her with those big begging eyes, making use of the look she knew was specifically designed to get her the things she wanted.

Uh Oh. Wrong use of words. Don’t ever mention the terms “orgy” and “party” in the same sentence anywhere near one of your parents. Another mental note taken. Even through her peripheral vision, she can see her father’s eyes widening twice its size.

“Well, if you’re going out with one of those hockey guys, then I’m sorry J, but I’m not doing much to help.” Okay, so maybe she is going to engage in the discussion. Just a little bit.

When all of this started, she had a talk with her sister about how these type of guys could be. She had especifically warned her about how Paul Miller wasn’t the fairytale prince in the white horse she was expecting him to be.

If she didn’t want to listen to her, fine, it was Jordan’s decision to make. But she wouldn’t be the one encouraging her to continue this thing when she pretty much knew her sister could end up with a heart broken. 

The two of them had a pretty great relationship most of the time, but her little sis could be so stubborn sometimes. Although she probably had to admit, Tessa also wasn’t the easiest person in the world to deal with.

“See? Your sister is absolutely right! You know what? We’re changing our rules here.” Her father states, seeming pretty proud of himself for coming to that conclusion. “You will be allowed to date, Jordan, but only when Tessa dates.”

Oh shit. So much for not engaging.

“WHAT?! But Tessa never dates, this is not fair!” Ouch. Hearing that from your still-soon-to-be-16 sister was absolutely not on the catalogue of her proudest moments.

“Hey! That’s not true, I do have dates!” Tessa defends herself, helplessly trying to hide how her voice went pitchy. It’s a lie. Obviously.

“Oh yeah? With who? Casper, the friendly ghost?” Her sister is already standing up at this point and shaking her hands exaggeratedly, a tell for when she was nervous. 

“No, but maybe he could make you company in your room during prom, since…”

“ENOUGH!” Their little quarrel is interrupted by their father, who apparently isn’t in the mood for Jordan’s teenage problems anymore. “This is the last word, Jordan. You can go to prom with this Paul guy if, and only if, your sister goes too. And I don’t want to hear anything more about this.”

As he leaves the room, her sister fixes her death glare on Tessa, the new source of her issues.

“Well, thanks for nothing, sister.”

\---

She breathes deeply and exhales the air slowly, reveling in the quiet peace while sitting in a secluded spot most people usually don't go to. School is always so crowded all the time, with all these people rushing through the corridors and speaking way too loudly during every small break they had.

Still during freshman year, she found this spot, a bench mildly hidden between the trees that surrounded the outdoor court. It was her go-to place sometimes, when things got a bit overwhelming.

People used to say that high school would be the best years of your life. She just wondered for whom that could be real. 

The only people who truly appreciate high school are those who end up fitting in one of the power positions in the social food chain. The ones who get to walk among the popularity stereotypes.

For the rest of the human race, it’s only something you pretend to like so it could turn up a bit better. Or then, something you straight up just tolerate until it’s over. One or two reservations made, Tessa definitely belongs in that second group.

It had been a few days since the whole dating-slash-prom crisis, but Jordan was still giving her the cold shoulder and some occasional hard stares.

Apparently, Tessa was now the source of the world problems and disruptor of global peace because she didn’t have a boyfriend. Not that she minded, anyway. Her sister would just have to get used to it.

She adjusts her earphones while “she’s gone”, from Hall & Oates, is playing and opens her book where it was bookmarked. It was a study case on psychology’s theory of cognitive dissonance. 

Always the prepared one, Tessa wanted to get a headstart on the subject she would, hopefully, be studying for the next four years. It’s true the application processes weren’t over yet, but if everything went according to her plans, she would soon be enrolling in an undergradute psychology program.

Optimistically, in the Toronto University or then McGill. But really, just anywhere they would take her.

If you told little Tessa Jane, this would be her life plan some years later, she would’ve stuck her tongue out and announced that “no way, she would grow up to be an olympian.”  


Ever since she was just a small child, Tessa loved learning how to skate and the ice dance classes were her favorite part of the day. In her childish innocence, she would’ve sworn that was exactly what she was going to be doing for the next fifty years of her life.

But then her mother died when she was seven and, all of a sudden, her whole will to do anything other than lying in the bed, watching cartoons and crying the entire day was lost.  


Also, with her dad’s depression righ after the death, it was hard for him to commit to taking her to the rink every day.

Eventually, she tried to go back to it three years later, this time going into the singles. She was always better off alone anyway. But Tessa immediately realized that her heart just wasn’t in it anymore. Skating didn’t have the same magic for her as it once had.

So she gave up for good on the prospect of taking figure skating seriously, and kept it as nothing more than a cherished hobby. Still to this day, she would sometimes spend a few hours in a nearby rink and just lose herself in it.

Gradually, during high school, the idea of following a career in psychology took over her heart. She already feels her mind buzzing with the possibilities of what she could do after graduating.

Tessa is so lost in the music and deep within her thoughts that she doesn’t even notice someone approaching and slowly waving his hands in front of her.

“Oh, sorry… Hi” She says, closing the book and taking her phones off. But when she realizes who’s the person talking to her, she couldn’t be more surprised.

Scott Moir. Captain of the Red Falcons, their school’s own hockey team.

“Hi Tessa! How are you?” He says, already slumping in the other side of the bench, as if they were childhood friends who chatted casually every day.

“I’m… fine?” Tessa can’t avoid staring at him in confusion. In nearly four years studying together, she could count in one hand the amount of times they had talked to each other… and there would be some fingers left. What the hell is going on?

“This is a nice place, huh? I’m not used to coming around here.” Oh God, she really hopes he won’t decide to start visiting this spot from now on.

“I’m sorry, what is happening here? Are there any cameras around? Is one of your friends hidden behind the trees?” She starts turning around to check if there was, indeed, someone behind them, but stops midway through when he starts laughing loudly. It had a nice sound to it.

“No, there’s no one hidden anywhere, don’t worry.” He still has a playful tone in his voice. “I know we don’t usually talk, but this is not a prank.”

“What happened, then? Did you come to intervene on Paul’s behalf? About Jordan?” They are both on the hockey team, so they’re probably friends, right?

“No, it’s nothing like that. Paul can take care of himself. I actually wanted to talk about the book club.” He says, rubbing the back of his head.

“What? The book club? What about it?” Color her confused. Scott came all the way back here to talk to her about the book club? What? How does he even know how to find her here?

London’s Collegiate Institute has, indeed, a permanent book club that she is very proud to be a part of. Every month they choose a new book for everyone to read, and then usually gather once a week to discuss it. Genres and topics could vary from autobiographies to historical dramas then to horror stories and everything in between.

She never expected Scott to be interested in it, though. Jocks were a rare sight to be seen in their meetings. And when one of them did make an appearance, it was usually because they got lost and confused the rooms.

“Yeah, I want to know more about it. Like, when do you guys meet? What do you usually read?” He has his body fully turned on her direction as he speaks and gesticulates “I thought maybe I could join the club? If you guys are still accepting people, of course.”

“O-kay” That comes out almost as a singsong, because she's still quite in disbelief. “Of course, we are always open for everybody.”

Tessa is about to start explaining to him how exactly the club works when she remembers something.

“Wait, aren’t you friends with Andrew? Andrew Poje?”

“Yep, I am, why?” Okay, this is getting weirder by the minute.

“Andrew is also a part of the book club. Why didn’t you talk to him about this?” She asks, narrowing her eyes at him. Tessa realizes this probably comes out a bit rash, but she can’t avoid cutting straight to the point.

“Uh… I- I did- Andrew is… he’s very busy right now. He- His grandmother has contracted gonorrhea recently. I didn’t want to disturb him with these things.” He stutters at that, and the volume of his voice has dropped so that she could barely hear the end of the sentence. 

“What?! Really?” She has no idea why the concept of Andrew’s grandmother having gonorrhea is so disturbing to her, but it is. “Wow, I’m sorry about that”.

“Yeah, it was a really unfortunate incident.” Scott probably realizes too late the implications of that sentence, because he shuts his eyes closed and runs a hand through his hair. She has to force herself not to laugh at that.

“So, the book club!” A quick change in subject was very much needed, thank you. “Uh, we usually get together on wednesdays at 3 P.M. In the beginning of every month we choose a new book, any genres allowed, and then we discuss it on these weekly meetings.”

“Oh, it sounds great! Maybe I could take a hockey book, huh? Bet it would make a huge success.” He says, with a smirk on his face.

Maybe, just maybe, it’s the fact that this whole interaction is already absolutely weird and her warning alarms have been ringing this entire time. Or then it was just that damn smirk on his face. One way or another, Tessa snaps at that.

“What? Why would you do that?” Her voice is already higher when she answers him. Why do these athletes have to bring up their sports all the time, by the way?

“Well, you said you were open to any readings…” Scott bits his lips, suddenly sounding unsure.

“Yeah, but that’s oddly specific given who you are… Are you trying to mock on this book club, Scott?” She narrows her eyes at him, but can still see how his face falls for half a second before answering.

“N-No, it was a joke?” He says slowly, maybe not knowing if that was the right answer.

“Well, you know what, Scott? We happen to take the club very seriously around here. Think about it before joining in.”

At that, she grabbed her stuff and got up quickly to leave, missing the complete dumbfounded expression left on Scott’s face.

Oh, these damn hockey players.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sassy Tessa is here to stay!
> 
> I forgot to mention this on the first chapter's note, but in the movie, Patrick doesn't really have a motive for accepting the money. I definitely wanted Scott to have one, so now he does.
> 
> Comments? Thoughts on Tessa and Scott's encounter?

**Author's Note:**

> I know this was 100% Scott, but next chapter is entirely a Tessa POV.
> 
> So, what did you guys think?


End file.
